A Shampoo, A Haircut, A Shoulder Massage, A Ministry:

It's been a while since I last had my mane trimmed and so I decided to find a local barber shop for one last hair cut before leaving this part of the world. Whenever I go some place to get my hair cut, I usually have a captive audience in my barber, so I take the opportunities to talk about life.

Usually, people are quite surprised that someone my age is studying for the ministry. Maybe it's because I have been told that I don't look my age... or it could be my boyish good looks... :-P. Whatever the case may be, I started talking about why I was in Fishers, Indiana and found out that the woman who was cutting my hair was originally from Guatemala City. I told her that I had friend who are in Guatemala quite often.

As we talked, I learned that she had three teenage children and she expressed how grateful she was that people do ministry specifically for teenagers. As we continued to talk, I learned that her husband had left her just a few months prior for her sister-in-law (her brother's wife). Both families were experiencing the anger and pain revolving around this situation.

I can't relate to that feeling, but do know One who heals indiscriminately from situations like this. Jesus Christ has healed me from different pains and angers. He promised that He would send The Comforter and God always keeps His promises.

My barber was already a believer and expressed just how much she was relying on God to be her strength and to help out her kids. I told her about our youth ministry and encouraged her to have them check it out.

Was it simply the resonation of our beliefs that caused a divine moment of encouragement and ministry? It's funny how people open up - I have never met this woman before, nor will I probably ever see her again, but I believe that something as simple as a trip to the barber shop would serve as an encouragement to someone.

So for $13, I was able to share with her some comfort... oh yeah, and I got my hair washed, conditioned, and cut as well as a wicked shoulder massage!

What the Blind Kid Saw:

Last night I got curious, so I started poking around at the HTML of my blog. They say that if isn’t broken, don’t fix it, but if we waited until everything was broken, we’d get kind of bored or boring.

So with that being said, I tinkered away at the html and some pictures around the new concept: “What The Blind Kid Saw.” But why mess with a good thing? Why not keep the soap opera alive? I will tell you why.

Though overly dramatic situations do indeed cross my path, this is life. A very good Friend asked me expressed concern that I was discontent with my life or thought that God had it out for me. I never thought about it before.

The prior concept of my blog was around the weird things that happen around me. However, I refrained from posting about the personal “dramas” that were going on in my life so that I didn’t slander or brag about the situation. I realize that I have slipped a few times and posted out of my frustration, but my intentions were to keep it away from that.

So here it is, a more fitting title and description. Life happens all around each and every one of us, but I can’t see things from your eyes and you can’t see it through mine. Being dependent on glasses or contacts, I have learned that I cannot trust my eyes on their own, so I rely on something to help me see.

Our hearts are the same way. They are easily blinded and because our humanness, our heart can play tricks on us. That is why I can’t depend on that alone to see clearly, I need help seeing with it. I need help from The Only One; for Him to spit in the dirt and cover my heart, washing away scales, mending the wounds, and softening obsidian chambers.

I have been given new sight...

Let the lame walk.

Let the deaf hear.

Let the dead find new life.

Let the blind kid see.

Short Posts for The Short Bus Crowd:

Hey gang - can't type long because it's 1 AM, I'm exhausted, and I have a day of dealing with 5th and 6th graders ahead of me.

But, ta da!

Here it is... Thanks to the wonders of modern HTML, my curiousity, and the fact that I have to tinker with things to see just how they work... I have a less uniform looking blog and a new title to go along with it.

I hope you all enjoy... I'll post soon with the reasons for the shift.

On that note, I leave you with a (late) happy Thanksgiving picture of my host family.... and some strange dude dressed up like an Arab.